The Hidden Man
by happyhooligan2001
Summary: The Wizard hid in the back rooms of the Palace for years with no human contact. Or was there one person who knew his secret and provided him companionship? Wizard/Jellia Jamb Complete
1. Chapter 1

**The Hidden Man**

**Chapter 1**

**The Mysterious Voice**

**Prologue**

The day was hot and sunny. The boy's blue wool uniform was damp with his sweat. The dust choked his throat and he wished he could have a drink of water. He clutched his rifle with sweaty hands. He was young for a soldier, barely in his mid teens. The sweat running into his eyes made them sting. He blinked and tried not to tremble. A knot of terror twisted in his guts.

The man next to him squinted at the line of soldiers and cannons dug in on the ridge ahead of them. The field between them were littered with the bodies of men and horses from the two companies that had made the charge ahead of them. "Say, Ozzie. Do one of your magic tricks and make all them Johnny Rebs disappear."

The boy forced a grin. "Lester, if I could, I would." Lester chuckled.

Major Brady rode across the front of the line on his splendid brown charger. "Fix bayonets! One more charge and we'll break the line!"

Ozzie's hands fumbled as he fixed the bayonet on his rifle. He gritted his teeth to keep them from chattering and leveled his rifle at the men on the ridge.

"Forward March!"

The line of soldiers began marching across the fields. Up on the ridge the Confederate cannons began to roar. They were still out of effective rifle range but the cannonballs began bounding through their ranks smashing bodies and ripping off limbs. They had already reached the bodies of those who fell in the previous charges. Some of them were still groaning and Ozzie tried to step over the bodies of those who still had life in them.

They had now marched within rifle range. A crackle of flash and smoke obscured the top of the ridge. Some of the soldiers around Ozzie made coughing sounds as they fell.

"Double time! March!" The soldiers picked up the pace and began jogging. A fine red mist sprayed from Lester's head and he fell. Ozzie didn't stop. He couldn't help his friend, no one could.

"Charge!"

The men in blue gave out a great shout and began charging up the ridge. The cannons, now loaded with grapeshot sprayed dozens of small iron balls into their ranks with each shot as the rifle fire increased. Men were falling all around him. Ozzie could hear the minnieballs whizzing around him. He got within 40 feet of the Confederate line and looked up as the rebels wheeled a cannon to point directly at him. Ozzie dived face forward just as the artilleryman yanked on the lanyard. With a tremendous roar the cannon fired a blast of musket balls over him and he felt the hot wind of the blast on his back.

Ozzie raised his head. Every man within twenty feet of him had been mangled almost beyond recoginition. He saw a bearded Confederate aim his rifle directly at him and squeeze the trigger. The hammer fell on an empty chamber and the rebel grunted in frustration. Just then the wave of blue hit the rebel line and they immediately fell into hand to hand fighting. Ozzie aimed his rifle at the chest of a young man in butternut grey and squeezed off a shot. He couldn't tell if he hit him or not. The number of surviving Union soldiers to hit the line were too few to break it and they began to retreat. Ozzie scrambled to his feet and began running down the hill with the rest of the soldiers as the rebels fired into their backs. Blood ran into his eyes from a wound in his head. He had no idea why his head was bleeding. It just was. The bullets kept whizzing around him and he tripped over a dead body falling face down in the dirt. He crawled behind a dead horse. He was whooping and gasping as his lungs tried to draw in enough air. Nearby a dead officer with a handlebar mustache lay on his back staring up into the sky with empty blue eyes.

Ozzie's hands shook as he tried to reload his rifle. He kept dropping the cartridge and finally gave up. The horse carcass was covered with flies. Every now and then a bullet would smack into it causing the flies to rise up in a small cloud but they soon settled back down again. The horse was also crawling with ants some of whom decided that Ozzie would also make a tasty meal. Ozzie tried to stay as still as he could while they bit him. The Confederates were firing at any movement and he didn't want to attract any atttention. His throat was choked with dust and he felt that if he didn't get a drink of water soon he would die of thirst.

He looked longingly back at the Union lines. High above the lines hung a tethered observation balloon. Ozzie watched as a message attached to a long red ribbon fluttered down to the ground to the awaiting general. He stared at the balloon. The sky was so clear and clean. The balloon was high above all the death, blood, and horror. It was far above all the troubles on the ground. It was so beautiful.

* * *

><p>Professor Wogglebug strode down the halls of the Royal Palace humming a jaunty tune. He stopped to talk to a pretty young blond maid who pointed down the hall. He politely tipped his orange bowler and thanked her then continued down the hallway.<p>

He entered the Magic Picture Room and spied Jellia Jamb on her knees scrubbing the floor. "Good morning Jellia." He greeted her with a bow and a florish of his hat.

The pretty young girl with the lusterous dark brown hair and a green apron looked up at him and smiled. "Good morning Professor Wogglebug. Are you here to see Ozma?"

"No my dear, actually, I'm here to see you."

"Me?" Jellia was confused, "Whatever for?"

The Wogglebug spread his arms out, "I am writing a comprehensive and complete history of Oz! I would love to interview you."

"Wouldn't a complete history of Oz be impossible to write?"

The Wogglebug grinned with excitement. "Of course it's impossible! Only the greatest of scholars would dare to attempt the impossible! I leave the merely difficult for lesser minds!"

Jellia shook her head. "Well, I don't know why you would want to interview me. I'm not one for adventures, I rarely even leave the city."

"You'd be surprised how much history takes place inside this very building. You've been here since the days of the Wizard's rule. You've served through the reigns of the Scarecrow, Jinjur, and Ozma. You probably know every inch of this palace. I absolutely have to interview you. What time do you get off work?"

"The same time I start work. Whenever I feel like it." She looked around the room and shook her head. "But I hate to leave a job half finished. Give me fifteen minutes."

"Very well," the Wogglebug stepped out into the hall and pulled a small book on glassblowing techniques in Ix out of his coat pocket. Jellia actually finished the room in about ten minutes and emerged from the Magic Picture room.

"Let's conduct the interview somewhere where we won't be disturbed." The Wogglebug suggested.

"How about my parlor? I hardly ever have any visitors."

"Lead on McDuff!" The Wogglebug declared throwing his arm out in a grandious manner.

"What?"

"A quote from Shakespeare's MacBeth, actually a misquote but one which has achieved a life entirely of it's own. You lead, I follow."

Jellia led him through a maze of passageways to a solid looking oak door. She selected a key from the seemingly hundreds of keys on her keyring and opened the door to what appeared to be a stone masonry cylinder with a spiral staircase leading up into the distance. The Wogglebug gave an exasperated sigh as he followed her up. The stairway seemed endless. Wogglebug bodies weren't exactly designed to walk on their hind legs much less go up endless stairs. Eventually he was gasping, his legs on fire. He was tempted to get down and crawl, bug style, but he still had his dignity. "You hardly ever get visitors?" he wheezed. "I wonder why?"

"It's not much further." Jellia seemed unfazed by the stairs.

His vision was beginning to blur. "The palace is full of nice suites. Wouldn't Ozma let you have one?"

"I'm sure she would if I asked." Jellia opened a trap door in the ceiling. "We're here!"

The Wogglebug emerged into a cozy circular kitchen with a round table set in the center. The staircase continued on up and he followed Jellia up it into a little circular parlor with cozy chairs windows and a door leading out to a balcony that circled the tower. The stairs continued up into what he assumed was her bedroom and possibly other rooms as well. A look out the window at the magnificent view spread out before him told him why Jellia didn't want to move into larger rooms down in the palace. With a sigh of relief he sank into an overstuffed chair.

Jellia approached him with a pitcher and a glass. "Would you like some lemonade?"

"Yes! Thank you!" He gasped. Jellia sat down in the chair opposite him. "Now let me know what it was like working in the Palace when the Wizard ruled. I suppose it was odd working for someone that nobody ever saw."

"Yes it was at first. Let's start at the beginning."

_Jellia Jamb shyly approached the servant's entrance of the palace and knocked. She clutched her carpetbag and waited, after about a minute the door opened up revealing a stout matronly woman with a green apron._

"_Hello, can I help you?" she looked at the young Gillikin woman distainfully._

"_I've come for a job. My name's Jellia Jamb."_

_The woman waved her in with a bored air. "Very well, come on in. You don't look very promising but our turnover is so high. I'm Miss Broom. The head maid of the palace. You'll be expected to work hard five days a week. The palace is huge so there's a lot of work to do. You'll probably be heading back up to the Gillikin country in no time!"_

_Jellia had no intention of going back to the Gillikin country. The isolation of farm life grated on her. She wanted to be around people, to have some excitement. And she loved to clean. To bring order out of chaos was her greatest joy. She stepped into the palace for the first time._

"So it was hard to find people to work in the Palace?" The Wogglebug asked. "I thought it would be a plum job!"

"Everybody was creeped out by the Wizard." Jellia replied. "No one ever saw him. It was just a strange, creepy voice that came out of the walls giving orders and making demands. He would want all kinds of strange items brought to him and left in a special room. When we came back later the items were always gone. He wanted food of course but also other things like coils of steel or copper wire, bales of cotton, feathers, paint, tools, books from the royal library. Nobody knew what he was doing and everyone was afraid of him."

_Jellia was sweeping the floor of the throne room. It was never really used. There was an impressive throne but nobody ever sat in it. It seemed to be waiting for someone. Suddenly a voice came out of thin air. "I AM OZ! THE GREAT AND TERRIBLE! WHO ARE YOU?"_

_Jellia jumped and looked around. She didn't see anyone. She bowed toward the throne. "I am Jellia Jamb, a new maid. I'm pleased to uhhh, meet you."_

"_WHERE DO YOU COME FROM, JELLIA JAMB!"_

"_The Gillikin country. I just started working two days ago."_

"_A GILLIKIN EHH! GILLIKINS ARE KNOWN FOR THEIR BOYSENBERRY PIES, I DEMAND YOU MAKE ME A BOYSENBERRY PIE, VEGETABLE SOUP, A BUCKET OF ICE CUBES, AND A PITCHER OF MILK, I ALSO DEMAND A BOX OF CANDLES, A JAR OF TOOTHPASTE, AND A GALLON OF OIL!"_

_Jellia bowed toward the empty throne. "As you command sire." She rushed out to the kitchen._

_Jellia soon settled into the routine of working at the Palace. Occasionally Oz would demand some item or service and she quickly obliged. The Wizard was pretty scary but she figured he wouldn't ever really hurt her._

_One day after she'd been working in the Palace for about 10 months she opened up a cabinet in one of the sitting rooms. The shelves in the cabinet were extremely dusty. It probably hadn't been opened in years. She removed all the dishes inside and began wiping the shelves down. When she reached into the very back her hand pushed in a panel in. Suddenly the cabinet swung outwards and she jumped back. In the wall behind the cabinet was a brick lined passageway filled with dust and cobwebs, Jellia peered down the passageway. Finally her curiousity overpowered her fear. She lit an oil lantern and stepped inside._


	2. The Secret Wizard

**The Hidden Man**

**Chapter 2**

**The Secret Wizard**

* * *

><p>"So you found one of the secret passageways, the Palace is riddled with them." The Wogglebug said.<p>

"Yes, the Wizard had built secret passages all through the Palace so he could spy on people and speak with them without being seen."

"Actually the passages were originally built by King Ozroar the First when he built the first Palace." The Wogglebug corrected her. "When the Wizard rebuilt the Palace he kept and expanded them for his own purposes." He took another sip of lemonade. " King Ozroar was a facinating man. I'll be giving a three month course on King Ozroar starting two weeks from now. Every Tuesday at 4:00 PM, You are welcome to sit in."

Jellia squirmed a little, "Umm, I don't think I'll have time, but thanks for the offer." She then noticed the look of disapointment on Professor Wogglebug's face. "But I'm sure I might make it to a couple of lectures at least" The Wogglebug's face lightened up. "Anyway, I was careful to shut the door behind me after I went in . . ."

_After about twenty feet the passageway reached a T intersection. The new passageway seemed to have less dust and cobwebs. It was still filthy though. Jellia made a mental note to return with cleaning supplies. The idea of such dirtiness, even inside the walls, disgusted her. She glanced at the dirty floor and her eyebrows furrowed in puzzlement. There were tracks in the dust. Someone else traveled through these walls and quite frequently. She decided at random that the right direction to go was right. _

_The passageway was very narrow and at some places she had to squeeze past some structual supports. Then she saw something that stopped her in her tracks. It was a large curving metal horn with the open end nearly touching the outside wall.. There was light shining on it from somewhere. When she got closer the light seemed to come from a glass window. Looking through the window she could see the large state dining room reserved for the very rare state banquets for notable guests. The window appeared to be the mirror hanging behind the head of the table. It was well known that the Wonderful Wizard of Oz had the power to become invisible and move through the palace like a ghost. Apparently he was more solid than rumored to be. The horn would amplify and deepen the voice of anyone who spoke through it. This was nothing but simple trickery. Jellia's opinion of the Wizard dropped a few notches._

_Still there might still be a chance that she could spy the Wizard. Very few people have ever seen him. Some people who have claimed he looked like a terrible beast or a giant head. It was well known that he could change his appearance at will. The stories about him said he had appeared as a normal man when he first came from the sky to keep from startling the people too much. There were stories that he would destroy anyone who saw him in his true form. But her curiousity overcame her fear and she decided to move on._

"I have never fully explored the secret passageways of the Palace." The Wogglebug said. "I suppose he could look into any room of the Palace."

"Not every room," Jellia replied. "He didn't have any peepholes or one way mirrors in any of the bedrooms or bathrooms. I suppose he was too much of a gentleman to violate people's privacy. But he could see into nearly all of the public rooms."

_Jellia found several more horns along with peepholes and one way mirrors. Some had mysterious levers that she didn't dare to touch. She wondered where she would end up or what horrible fate might await her if the Wizard found her._

"_I AM OZ! STEP FORWARD!" A great voice boomed from ahead of her._

_Jellia nearly fainted. "Y-Yes sir," she whimpered as she walked, trembling into a larger room. Dimly, in the darkness she could see a gigantic head staring at her._

"_I COMMAND YOU TO MAKE ME A PISTON! EXACTLY SIX INCHES IN DIAMETER! MAKE IT OF THE FINEST STEEL!"_

_A lump of fear rose in Jellia's throat. "Um, I don't know what a piston even is." The head didn't seem to be moving at all. Not even its mouth._

"_I ALSO COMMAND YOU TO MAKE A CYLINDER OUT OF THE FINEST STEEL, TWO FEET LONG! I WANT THE PISTON TO FIT AS SNUGLY AS POSSIBLE INTO THE CYLINDER BUT STILL ABLE TO SLIDE BACK AND FORTH!" The head still wasn't moving. As she got closer she noticed it wasn't even looking at her. She stepped closer and could see that it was made of paper mache. There were several thin wires attached to it._

"Oh, the giant head!" The Wogglebug grinned. "I saw it once. It's still in the back rooms of the palace. A little worse for wear though. Paper Mache isn't exactly a durable building material."

"Yes, no one's used those rooms since the Wizard left. It wasn't until I went around the head that I actually saw the Wizard for the first time.

"_I WILL NOW GIVE YOU THE PLANS! FOLLOW THEM EXACTLY!" Jellia could see a man shouting into a horn. He was wearing dirty red long johns and house slippers. He also had a scraggly beard. His greasy black hair was long and hanging down his back, forever gone on top. He pulled a lever and she could faintly hear a whoosh and a popping noise followed a murmer of astonishment from some other room. "GO NOW AND FOLLOW MY COMMANDS!" The man shouted. He waited a few seconds and then pulled another lever. She could hear the distinctive sound of the throne room doors slamming shut. She had always thought that was magic too. There was nothing magical going on back here. All she felt now was anger._

_The man grinned and turned around only to find Jellia glaring at him. The grin turned into an expression of astonishment, then fear. "What are you doing back here? Quick! You have to leave before the Wizard gets back!"_

_Jellia didn't move. "Who are you!"_

"_I'm the Wizard's assistant!" He began waving his hands at her frantically. "You must leave quickly and never come back! Never tell anyone what you've seen back here. If the Wizard finds out you've been back here he'll destroy you! He has a terrible temper!"_

_The Wizards terrible temper couldn't possibly match Jellia's real temper. "There's no Wizard! You're nothing but a fraud! You've been fooling everybody with your tricks! I'll go out and tell everybody about you! You'll be run out of the Emerald City in disgrace!"_

"Jellia! I'm shocked!" The Wogglebug proclaimed. "I've never known you to show any sign of anger. Not even that time the Cowardly Lion tracked mud on Ozma's new carpet, or the time Scraps tried to juggle vases."

Jellia's face redened. "No, I think that was the only time I really got angry. It's just that I thought he had set himself up to be King, to live in luxury while the rest of us worked for him. I didn't really understand what the truth was . . ."

_The strange man looked ashamed. "Please don't do that. If you do you'll be sorry you were ever born."_

"_You dare to threaten me? I'm not afraid of you, you old fraud!"_

"_I'm not threatening you Jellia, I'm sorry if you thought I would. I could never harm you, and I'm not the one you should be afraid of. " He walked over to a small table and pulled out a chair. "Here, Jellia, have a seat. I'll tell you why I fooled you and you can decide for yourself whether or not to tell anybody about me. I won't stop you."_

_Jellia sat down and looked around. It seemed to be a workshop with all kinds of strange tools and workbenches. The table she was sitting at was in a corner of the room that was apparently part of a very dirty kitchen. In another corner was an unmade bed covered with a tangle of sheets and blankets. "If you're going to sit and chat with me, you can at least get dressed."_

_The Wizard looked down at his dirty long johns. "I guess you're right. You're the first person I've talked to, face to face, in over twelve years. I just got out of the habit of getting dressed. Didn't really see a point to it."_

"That doesn't sound much like the Wizard I know!" The Wogglebug said.

"He had been living in nearly complete isolation for years." Jellia replied, "He later explained to me that his sanity was slipping a bit. But he got dressed and sat to talk. . . "

"_My name is Oscar Zoroster Diggs, there's a lot more to my name but that is unimportant. I'm not from Oz but from another nation far away called The United States of America. While your people became masters of magic, my people became masters of science and technology. I flew here by accident in a hot air balloon. It is a kind of machine that flies by science. But here only wizards fly, so the people proclaimed me a great wizard. Since the balloon had my first two initials O.Z., they thought I must be the rightful ruler of this land."_

"_So you tricked them to become King!" Jellia spat out._

"_I did what I had to, to keep the country from falling apart, I made some discoveries about this place. Do you know why the Emerald City is here?" he asked Jellia._

"_Because this is the exact center of Oz." Jellia replied._

_The Wizard shook his head, "Not really, there is another reason, Oz is a very magical land. I can't do magic but I have studied it. Magic follows pathways or lines of power. They cross this land and intersect. But there is one place where all the lines cross, This Palace. Here the magical power of Oz is concentrated. Spells cast here are greatly magnified. Any witch or wizard who lives in this place would be nearly invincible."_

The Wogglebug paused in his notes, "That wouldn't have helped the Wizard. He didn't have any magic powers at the time."

Jellia shook her head, "No, he didn't but there were other people who did."

"_The royal family had vanished," the Wizard went on. "The Emerald City was up for grabs, whoever controlled it would probably control the entire country. There are some powerful, evil witches in this land. They would have fought over it. It would be like Kalidahs fighting over a piece of meat. In a battle like that the meat always loses. If one of them takes this city, she would enslave everybody."_

"_There are good witches too!" Jellia stated._

_The Wizard stared into the distance, staring into a past he had tried to forget. "Have you ever seen an entire city burn?" His voice was barely above a whisper, " I have, and more than once. Atlanta, Savannah, small towns that I don't even remember the names of. I've seen men blown to pieces, fields strewn with thousand of bodies, an entire people enslaved. I fought as a soldier in a terrible war, I didn't want any of that to happen here."_

"_But surely you defeated that terrible army that destroyed those cities!"_

_The Wizard gave a sad crooked smile, "No, I was in that terrible army that destroyed those cities, and yes, we were the good guys, We freed over three million people from slavery. But we killed tens of thousands and destroyed much of the country. Those good witches you mentioned might decide to destroy the Emerald City rather than let it fall into the wrong hands. They might sacrifice the city if it will save the rest of the country."_

"I don't think that would have happened." The Wogglebug said.

"Maybe, maybe not. We'll never know for sure." Jellia answered. "It wasn't worth the risk. Besides, he was just working from his own experiences."

"_The only answer I saw was to have a powerful wizard controlling the Emerald City. One who is so mysterious and frightening that no one would dare to attack him on his own ground. Any one who saw me would know immediately that I was a fake, familiarity does breed contempt. I had to be scary enough to frighten the scariest people in the world." He glanced around the room. "So I disappeared into the walls of the Palace and never came out. I created a very frightening Wizard to hide the scared little man behind the curtain."_

"_There are stories that Pastoria had a baby." Jellia said._

"_The baby's safe, that's all I'll say about it." I must stay until it matures. Children grow so slowly here that it could take decades." He looked Jellia in the eyes. "You can go now. I won't stop you. I can't stop you from telling about me either. But you must weigh the consequences and do what you think is best."_

_Jellia stood up and began to walk out. She had a lot to think about._

"_Jellia, thank you." His voice stopped her in her tracks._

"_Thank you for what?" she asked._

"_For the pies, they're delicious. I never could show you how much I appreciate what you do here. I can be scary or I can be polite. I can't be both. So thank you."_

_Jellia looked back at him. He was sitting alone in the circle of lamplight at the table. He had been sitting alone for so long. So many years. She turned around and walked back to him. _


	3. Queen Jellia

**The Hidden Man**

**Chapter 3**

**Queen Jellia**

* * *

><p><em>Jellia strode back to the Wizard looking around the room "When was the last time you cleaned up around here?"<em>

_The Wizard looked somewhat ashamed. "Umm, I've been rather busy lately, I have some projects I've been working on."_

_Jellia rolled up an old copy of the Ozmapolitan. "This kitchen is filthy! It's infested with wogglebugs! She started swatting the kitchen counter._

"Uhh!" the Wogglebug became rather pale.

"Oh! I'm so sorry Professor!" Jellia's cheeks reddened with shame.

The Wogglebug swallowed. "No, it's quite alright. No one understands the occupational hazards of being a household pest better than I do. Please go on."

_Jellia came up behind him and put her hand on his shoulder. "Clean people always feel better about themselves than dirty people. You've been alone for so long that you've probably forgotten that. I'm going to draw a bath for you. Now that you're going to have me around you're going to have to keep clean. You scrub up really good while I wash your clothes." _

_Jellia could hear the Wizard behind a screen splashing and scrubbing him self as she wrung out his shirt and hung it on the clothesline. "What were you doing when I came in? All that talk about pistons and such?"_

"_Oh, that, I'm planning on building a small steam engine."_

"_What's a steam engine?"_

"_It's a machine that harnesses the power of steam to do amazing things! I was planning to use it to lift some heavy objects around here!" The Wizard's voice had a tone of excitement._

_Jellia chuckled, "Sorry to disappoint you but steam isn't very strong. All it can do is rattle the pot lid or make the tea kettle whistle."_

_Jellia heard the Wizard exit the tub of water. The towel hanging on the screen disappeared. "Your people have access to some pretty powerful magic but my people have created a magic of our own. One of the things we have learned to do is harness steam. By confining it at not letting it escape we use it to haul tons of cargo and people thousands of miles across the country. It can lift incredible loads or propel an iron ship a hundred feet long across the ocean." He came out from behind the screen buttoning a clean, if slightly damp, shirt. _

"_Sit down in that chair!" Jellia ordered. "You need a haircut!" She found the whole steam thing hard to believe. But she'll hold her tongue until the device was finished. _

_The Wizard ran his hand over his hair and beard, "And a shave too, I believe." He sat in the chair and Jellia threw a clean cloth over his shoulders and picked up some clippers._

_A while later the Wizard looked at himself in the mirror. "You're right, I do feel much better. Jellia thought he looked like a quite handsome middle- aged man once he was properly dressed and groomed. _

"_I've better go now before Miss Broom finds me missing." She said. "But I'll come back tomorrow as soon as I get a chance."_

_The Wizard smiled at her. "I look forward to seeing you._

_Over the next few days Jellia came back to the secret chambers quite a few times. The Wizard told her tales of his travels in America with the circus and some of his early adventures in Oz when he first arrived. She kept the place clean and even helped him with his steam engine after the parts started arriving. _

_One day she opened a cabinet and found, a dusty box made of black and white checkered wood, being somewhat curious she opened it. Inside were some small objects, some of which were carved to look like people. "What's this?" she asked._

"_A chessboard," the Wizard answered. "I carved it myself a few years ago when I was bored. But I quickly discovered that playing by myself wasn't any fun so I put it away."_

"_Well, you're not by yourself anymore. Teach me how to play."_

"_Very well." The Wizard removed the pieces and opened the box so that the outside formed a checkerboard. He then set up the pieces. Jellia pulled up a chair and watched as he pointed to the largest of the white pieces. It was carved to look like a bearded man with a crown. "This is the king. He's the most powerful piece."_

"_What does he do?"_

_The Wizard smiled. "Mainly he spends his time running away and avoiding trouble. He can move one square in any direction."_

_Jellia picked up her king and shook her head. "He doesn't seem very powerful to me."_

"_He's the key to the whole game. If your king gets captured, you lose the game, capturing your opponent's king is how you win the game. It doesn't matter how many other pieces you have on the board. Once the king is lost, the game is lost." He then moved his hand over to the piece next to the king. It was carved to represent a crowned woman. "This is the queen, the power behind the throne. She can go in any direction as far as she wishes. She is actually the most powerful piece on the board but she is still ultimately expendable if necessary to protect the king._

_Jellia held up her queen and inspected it closely. The Wizard was actually a pretty good woodcarver. The king and queen were flanked by two pieces that looked like men with tall pointy hats. She put the queen down and picked up one. _

"_Those are the bishops," The wizard explained. "High officers of the Church and protectors of the king. They are very rigid in their thinking. Each one thinks the color he is on the one true path. To stay on that color they only move diagonally and can go as far as they want. _

_The next pieces were carved to look like some fantastic animals. Jellia had never seen anything like them. The Wizard tapped one. "These are the knights, the carving is of a horse, I don't think there are any horses in Oz or at least I haven't heard of any. But I digress, knights are armored soldiers who ride horses. Horses can jump over other pieces. They can move straight one space and diagonally one space." _

"_I understand," Jellia picked up the corner piece, a castle tower. "And this one?"_

"_That is the castle or rook, they move in straight lines"_

"_Castles move?"_

"_For the purpose of the game they do. And all these little men in the front are the pawns. They represent the minor nobility. They hope to impress the king with their bravery, by crossing the entire board they can get a promotion. But what they don't understand is that the king secretly thinks very little of them. Most of them will end up being destroyed."_

"_That's horrible!" Jellia exclaimed._

"_That's war, it's the very essence of cruelty." The Wizard replied. "Let us begin."_

_They played three quick games. The games were quick because Jellia was a terrible chess player. She quickly discovered that the Wizard was a very clever man and he wasn't going to let her win just to make her feel better. Any victories she was going to get out of this man would have to be earned. He had a lot of tricks and with each game she learned a few more._

"_You really have to learn to sacrifice your pieces." The Wizard advised. _

_Jellia shook her head. "I can't, I feel so sorry for them, especially the pawns."_

"_You must learn, don't worry, they're just wood, you won't hurt their feelings." He carefully placed the pieces back into the box and handed it to her. _

"_Oh, I can't." _

"_I insist. they've been sitting alone in the dark for years, you brought them out. You deserve them more than I do." Jellia accepted the box, gave him a curtsey and quietly left the secret chambers._

The Wogglebug looked thoughtful. "Do you still play?"

Jellia smiled at him, "Yes, but not very often. There's not very many people around here who play."

"Well, you're looking at one. We should have a game sometime."

"Okay, but I'm warning you, I'm a little better than I was."

_Over the next several days when she was alone in her small room, Jellia would take out the chessboard, she would replay the games she had played with the Wizard and set up several different problems and try to work them out. The next time she and Wizard played, he might still beat her. But he would have to work at it._

_One day she opened a door she had never opened before. It was a large stone cylinder with stone steps out of the walls spiraling upward. It was extremely dusty and neglected. Apparently no one had been in there for many years but that made no difference to Jellia. Dirty was dirty. She looked up the stairs into the darkness. No sense in cleaning the ground floor when the dirt from the upper layers will just come down. Always start at the top. She picked up her bucket and cleaning supplies and started up the stairs._

"You carried all that up these stairs?" The Wogglebug's legs were still sore from the stairs. He couldn't imagine how hard that would be.

"Just that first time, look up."

The Wogglebug looked up and saw a large trap door over his head. "There's another one under this table. At the very top there is a ring with a pulley attached. You don't think I carried all my furniture up the stairs did you?"

The Wogglebug looked embarrassed. "I didn't think of it at all but I really should have. An oversight that is nearly unforgivable."

"It's quite alright."

"No, I am a genius. I have no excuse for overlooking the obvious. But, do go on."

_Up on the top of the tower were three rooms stacked on top of each other. A balcony completely surrounded the tower. There were old bunk beds, furniture, and moth eaten mattresses. Apparently this was an old, long abandoned watchtower where soldiers long ago looked for enemies. Jellia set to cleaning._

_The next evening Jellia dropped in on the Wizard. He had his sleeves rolled up and was working on his small steam engine. He glanced up as she came in. "Hello, Jellia, can you hand me that wrench over there."_

_Jellia grinned. "No."_

"_No?"_

"_No, the steam engine can wait, it's not going anywhere. I've got something better planned. Now wash up, you're dirty."_

"_Oh?" The Wizard put his tools down. He looked puzzled but he got up to clean up and change. Jellia waited patiently until he emerged in his suit. "Now what?"_

"_Just follow me." Jellia led him into the secret passages now completely cleaned. She kept peeking through the peepholes. "It's late, there shouldn't be anyone in the hallways but still, you never know." At last she opened one of the secret doors to one of the parlors, led him down a deserted hallway and opened up another door to the tower base. The Wizard still looked puzzled as she led him up the stairs. When they finally reached the top Jellia said "Close your eyes." The Wizard shut his eyes as she led him by the hand. Then she stopped him. "Now open them"_

_The Wizard opened his eyes, they were standing on the tower balcony. The sky was full of stars and a half moon hung in the sky dimly lighting the landscape. His eyes widened in astonishment. "Don't worry, nobody can see us up here. We're safe."_

_The Wizard's eyes filled with tears. "I haven't seen the sky in twelve years, it's so beautiful!" He breathed in deeply. "I don't know how to thank you."_

_Jellia grinned, "You already have." He turned and saw that she had a chessboard already set up. "How about a game of chess?" He smiled and sat down at the chessboard. He did beat her in the end but it took him more than half an hour and it wasn't easy. _

"_Your game is getting better." He said._

"_I've been practicing." She picked up one of the pieces, a woman with a crown. "You need a queen."_

"_What?"_

"_You're the king, you're all powerful but immobile. You can't move much and if we lose you we lose everything. You need a queen, someone who can move around freely all over the board. I can go all over Oz. I will act as you assistant."_

_The Wizard leaned back in his chair and thought. "Very well, will you be my queen?"_

_Jellia smiled, "Of course," she looked out the window. "Come on, we don't want to miss the best part!"_

_They walked out on the balcony and watched the sky turn pink as the sunrise approached._

"That was very brave of you." The Wogglebug said.

"Brave? In what way?"

"Because the queen is ultimately expendable."


	4. Blue Eyes

The Hidden Man

Chapter 4

Blue Eyes

* * *

><p>The Wizard tightened up the last bolt on the steam engine and stood up. "There, that's it. It's finished."<p>

Jellia looked at the large, bizarre looking metal object dubiously. "Do you think it's really going to work?"

"I don't see why not." The Wizard replied. "I'll need some wood and water to make it work. I've got the chimney vented outside. People will notice a lot of smoke and strange noises coming out of the palace but I'm already well known for being mysterious and strange." He went to the wood pile to gather and armload of wood while Jellia tidied up the workshop. He filled the boiler with water and started a fire in the firebox.

It took a while to get the steam up so the Wizard prepared some sandwiches while Jellia made some lime aid. "So, what are you going to do with this steam engine?" she asked.

"Oh, I don't know. Hoist the giant head for one thing, it must weigh a ton, I've got tackle but it's hard work. And I can't keep it hanging in the throne room all the time."

Jellia just sat there staring at the engine, which was beginning to make odd noises. "I can't help but think that you're being wasted in here. You're so clever and you could do so much good. But all you've done is build a prison and lock yourself in it."

The Wizard took her hand and squeezed it. "I wish there was another way but I can't think of anything. As long as the wicked witches remain a threat, then there must be a wizard to counter balance them."

Just then the machine made a loud shrieking noise as a jet of steam shot out from one of the joints. Jellia jumped from surprise and fright. The Wizard got up, picked up a wrench and tightened the joint until the shrieking stopped. He then pulled a lever and parts of the machine started to move. It made clanking, chuffing noises, the piston began to move back and forth turning a large wheel which began to turn, slowly at first then faster until it became a blur. Jellia stared at it in amazement. "It's working, I can't believe that it's working." She whispered.

A week later some very large crates arrived at the palace first thing in the morning. Jellia entered the throne room and bowed to the empty throne. "Wizard, some large crates have arrived. The workmen are moving them into the storeroom."

"Oh, excellent! I've been waiting for those! Go notify all the palace staff that I would like them to assemble here in the throne room at three o'clock."

Jellia gave the throne another bow. "Yes sir." She then left for the kitchen where she met Miss Broom and Chef Spatula.

Miss Broom scowled when she heard the news. "Why didn't the Wizard have me summon the staff? I'm in charge of the palace. You're nothing but a common maid."

"Because he is the Wizard of Oz and he does as he pleases." Jellia gave Miss Broom a small curtsey. "Now if I am excused I will tell the others."

Shortly before three all the palace staff were gathered in front of the throne room doors. The marble hall was filled with the murmuring of all the curious people who kept the palace running. The murmuring stopped when the gigantic doors slowly creaked open. It felt like an oven inside. The staff trembled with fear as they entered the throne room and stared at the giant ball of fire which hovered over the throne.

"I AM OZ! THE GREAT AND TERRIBLE!" Everybody trembled with fear. A couple of the newer staff members collapsed on the floor. Even Jellia was impressed.

"I AM GREATLY PLEASED WITH YOU AND ALL THE HARD WORK YOU DO IN THE PALACE! I HEREBY GRANT YOU ALL A BOON! EVERYONE SHALL HAVE A ONE WEEK VACATION BEGINNING TOMORROW MORNING! AT 8 A.M. THE PALACE DOORS WILL BE LOCKED AND NOBODY WILL BE ALLOWED IN UNTIL 8AM THE FOLLOWING MONDAY! I HAVE SPOKEN! NOW BEGONE!"

Everybody rushed out. In less than a minute the throne room was empty except for Jellia who crossed her arms and raised a quizzical eyebrow at the fireball. "Even me?"

"ESPECIALLY YOU JELLIA! NOW HELP ME OUT! THIS LEVER'S STUCK!" Jellia walked over to the curtain that hid the backup lever to the fire extinguishers. She wondered what Oscar was up to and why he was chasing everyone out of the palace.

Chef Spatula grunted as he lifted a trunk nearly as big as he was up on his shoulder. "I'm sure they have food where you're going." Jellia said as she helped adjust it. "You don't have to pack so much!"

"I'm going to the Winkie country to see my little sister." He grunted. "They have food there but they don't have good food."

Jellia's stomach knotted with terror. "The Winkie country? Isn't that dangerous?"

"Don't worry, I've been there several times. She doesn't live too deep in Winkie land and she's pretty close to the Quadling country. I'm sure the Wicked Witch has better things to do than worry about little old me. I'll be fine." He shifted the trunk slightly to a more comfortable position. "So Jellia, where are you going?"

Jellia wanted to stay here in the palace with Oscar but still, it's been a long time since she saw her parents. "I'm going to the family farm in the Gillikan country. My Dad's birthday is on Thursday and I'm going to surprise him."

Chef Spatula gave her a nod, "See ya next week." He trudged out the door with his trunk.

Jellia didn't pack nearly as much as Chef Spatula and was soon out of the city gate with a carpetbag in one hand. It was a lovely day outside and while the Emerald City is the most beautiful city in the world she hadn't actually seen the horizon from ground level since she first moved to it. The walking was easy on the Yellow Brick Road North and the very air smelled different outside the city. The first night out she spent with a woodcutter's family and taught the woodcutter's wife several delicious recipes that she learned in the palace kitchens while skillfully fending off all their eager questions about the Wizard. The next day she set off bright and early. The houses were further and further apart and then they ceased to appear at all. As the day turned into dusk Jellia spied an old woman holding a walking stick just standing out on the road. The old woman didn't seem to be going anywhere, just standing there watching Jellia approach.

"Good evening." Jellia greeted her.

"Nothing good about it! These bricks are much too hard, it's too warm out here and there's a draft! It's too bright out here and soon it's going to be too dark!" She squinted at Jellia. "You're a long way from the Emerald City aren't you?"

"How did you know I'm from the Emerald City?"

"You just look like you're from the Emerald City. What's your name?"

"My name's Jellia."

The old woman's face creased with a smile. "Pleased to meet you. I'm just an old woman lost out here in the woods. I don't want to spend the night alone."

"You're not alone, you're with me. I'm about to set up camp. Would you like to stay with me?"

"Yes, if you don't mind."

Jellia laid out her blankets and gathered wood to set a fire. "I've got food in the bag, just help yourself!"

Jellia got a fire blazing and then opened her bag, every last crumb of food was gone. The poor woman must have been starving. She sat down and stared into the fire.

"So have you ever seen the Wizard? What's he like?" The old woman asked.

"Nobody see's the Wizard. He is very mysterious."

"Come on Miss Jamb, I'm sure working in the palace you've must have seen something."

Jellia frowned. All palace servants took oaths of secrecy. What happens in the palace stays in the palace. Besides she never told the old woman her last name or even mentioned working in the palace. She looked up suddenly but only saw a bright flash of blue light.

The next morning Jellia woke up next to a burnt out, cold pile of ashes. There was no sign of the old woman. Jellia hoped that she was okay. She picked up her bag, packed her blanket and headed for the farm. She should be there at noon.

When Jellia approached her father's farm she heard singing coming from inside the house. It sounded like a mob of people singing "Happy Birthday." She opened the door to see her whole family gathered around the table where a large purple cake covered with candles dominated the scene. Everyone was shouting "Happy Birthday Rhubarb Jamb!"

Jellia grinned. "Happy birthday Dad! Aren't you celebrating early? Your birthday isn't until Thursday."

Jellia's mother, Strawberry, looked puzzled. "But Jellia, this is Thursday."

Now Jellia was puzzled. How can it be Thursday? She was sure it was Wednesday, How could she have lost a day? At least she made it in time for the party. Rhubarb was scowling at her though.

"Jellia! What's that you're wearing?!"

"It's called a dress, Dad."

"It's green! What kind of a decent woman walks around dressed like that?! You ought to wear purple like any decent person would! You're even worse than your Aunt Apricot prancing around in her blue socks, it's disgusting!"

Jellia rolled her eyes and sighed, she was beginning to remember why she moved out in the first place. "Aunt Apricot's purple socks just faded in the wash. It was just that one time and you didn't speak to her for twenty four years!"

"Not after she shamed the family like that! I'm willing to give you some leeway because you just came from the Emerald City but you really should change as quick as you can!"

"Yeah sure," Jellia opened her bag and pulled out her father's gift. "Here Dad, happy birthday."

Rhubarb Jamb unwrapped the purple wrapping paper from his gift and stared at the black cylinder trimmed with gold. "What is it?"

"The Wizard of Oz made it. It's called a telescope. You pull it open like this. Now go to the window and look through the little end here."

Rhubarb did as she said and his eyes widened in amazement. "It's magic!" Then he held it in his hands and frowned at it. "It's not purple."

"Not everything has to be purple, other colors are nice too."

"I'll just have to paint it."

"That'll destroy the magic. Besides now it's easy to find. You really should learn to appreciate other colors." Rhubarb shook his head and slid the telescope under the bed.

After a couple of days of hearing about the natural superiority of the color purple, Jellia went back to the Emerald City. When she got back the palace was already open so she headed for the kitchen. "Hi chef! How's the sister doing?"

Chef Spatula grinned, "As well as can be expected considering where she lives, did you have a nice trip?"

"Yeah pretty good." While Chef was preparing dinner Jellia looked at a row of six kitchen knives sitting in a rack. Her eyes suddenly turned blue. When they returned to their normal violet color there were five knives in the rack.

"Jellia Jamb!" Miss Broom's voice boomed from behind her. "You're late!"

"I'm sorry, I'll get right back to work!" Jellia rushed out of the kitchen. Miss Broom followed her.

Chef Spatula continued his preparations. Then his eyes suddenly turned yellow. He opened a cabinet and took out a small glass goblet. He smashed it then ground the glass into tiny shards. He then mixed the shards into the dough for the Wizard's bread kneading them into it until they were invisible. Then his eyes returned to their normal hazel color. He put the bread into the oven to bake.

At her first chance, Jellia slipped into a secret door to the Wizard's chambers. He was waiting for her dressed in his finest suit clean and fresh shaven. So different from the first time she saw him. When she saw him all she felt was indescribable happiness.

He smiled at her. "Hello Jellia, I have a surprise to show you."

She grinned back at him. "Okay, I'm game."

He led her to the tower. The steam engine was there in the bottom of the tower. Jellia placed her hand on the cold iron. "This is why I closed the Palace." The Wizard explained, "I couldn't very well move all this stuff around with people wandering around. Now follow me."

He led her up the stairs to the top of the tower and opened the hatch to a lovely sitting room with comfortable chairs, desks, and a beautiful stained glass doorway showing all the colors of the rainbow which led to the balcony outside.

_The Wogglebug put down his pen and looked around. "So that's how you got all this furniture up here. He used the steam engine!"_

"_Of course!" Jellia replied. "It would be way too hard to hoist it by hand."_

"_I didn't think of that but of course I should have." The Wogglebug glanced at the doors to the balcony. "But those aren't stained glass."_

"_No they're not."_

"Oh Oscar! It's beautiful! I love it!" Jellia shouted. She threw her arms around him and gave him a deep kiss on the lips. His eyes widened with surprise then hesitantly at first he embraced her and returned the kiss.

"It's so wonderful up here! I'm going to move in today! Just look at the view!"

Oscar looked out at the great expanse. It was beautiful but not as beautiful as Jellia. He could get lost staring into those deep blue eyes. Then his brow furrowed. Weren't Jellia's eyes violet?

Jellia raised the kitchen knife behind his back and drove it deep inside him.


	5. A Green World

The Hidden Man

Chapter 5

A Green World

Jellia's eyes were blue! Oscar realized with horror what that meant. He quickly jumped to one side. Not quickly enough to dodge the knife entirely, it plunged into the back of his greatcoat slicing across his ribcage causing blinding pain. Oscar fell to the floor helpless.

_Professor Wogglebug was horrified. "I understand that the witch must have enchanted you. But that's terrible! You must feel so guilty over what you did!"_

_Jellia shrugged, "Not really. I wasn't controlling my actions nor do I remember any of them. I can't really feel guilty of something I didn't really do. I was nothing more than a tool. But I am terribly sorry it happened." She then looked down and blushed. "I'm also sorry that I don't remember the kiss at all. A girl should remember her first kiss. The witch not only stole my body to use as a weapon against my best friend. She stole that from me as well."_

The Wizard rolled over and flicked his wrist at Jellia, the loud bang and flash of fire startled her making her jump backwards and gave him time to stagger to his feet. He managed to scoop up and fling a small wooden stool. It missed Jellia by a yard smashing the stained glass door.

"Missed me! Missed me! Now you gotta kiss me!" Jellia taunted in a screeching voice completely unlike her own. The Wizard recognized it immediately. Even though he had only encountered her once, he would never forget the voice of the Wicked Witch of the East.

"No, I didn't miss you old witch!" He picked up a high back wooden chair just as Jellia lunged at him and used it as a shield repeatedly poking at her with the legs.

"I will defeat you in the end!" Jellia screeched. "For I know you will never harm the girl. You also have a lot of blood leaking out of your back. When you lose enough you will be helpless and I will destroy you!"

Oscar knew she was right. He was already feeling weaker. Getting dizzy. He kept the chair between them blocking the witch's knife lunges. His arms were burning. The chair felt heavier and heavier. Finally he felt broken glass beneath his feet. But he couldn't drop his guard for a second.

"Jellia! I know you're in there! You have to fight her!" He gasped, "Jellia! Please!"

Jellia's face twisted in agony, her eyes slowly changed from blue back to violet. The knife dropped from her grasp. "Oscar? Please help me."

Oscar dropped the chair and lunged at her knocking her down to the floor. He was grateful that the thick carpet would prevent any serious injury. The witch was back screeching angrily and clawing for his eyes. He held her down with his right arm while his left hand groped through the broken glass. He eventually found what he was looking for and held a large piece of yellow glass in front of her eyes. Jellia's body went limp.

"Oscar, what's happening?

"You were possessed by the Wicked Witch of the East. Just keep holding this glass in front of your eyes."

Jellia took the piece of glass and the Wizard rolled off of her with a groan.

"Oh no!" She cried, "You're bleeding!" She started to put the glass down but he grabbed her wrist and pushed it back.

"Work one handed if you must but don't let the glass down." Oscar struggled out of his coat and shirt.

Cleaning and bandaging his back was a bit clumsy working one handed but being an expert housekeeper she quickly adjusted. "You're cut up pretty bad, did I do this?"

"No, she did. You had nothing to do with it."

"So why do I have to hold this yellow glass over my eyes?

"The Wicked Witch of the East is based in the Munchkin Country. Her magic is Blue Magic. The color yellow is a counter to blue magic. I have studied a lot of books on magic from the royal library. Blue also counters the Yellow Magic used by the Wicked Witch of the West.

"So if I held a piece of blue glass over my eyes?"

"Then the witch would be unstoppable." He winced with pain as he sat up and began to pull his bloody shirt back on.

Jellia collapsed into an overstuffed chair. "I can't keep holding this glass over my eyes forever."

"Yes, I know, I'll try to make some glasses." Oscar picked up one of the metal cames used to hold the pieces of stained glass together and twisted it into some spectacle frames. He took a glasscutter out of his pocket and cut some yellow glass into circles and fitted them in. "I'll make some nicer ones later."

Jellia put them on. "So how long do I have to wear these?"

The Wizard's face became grave. "I don't know, you might have to wear them until the Wicked Witch of the East is destroyed." He began cutting off a slice of bread.

Jellia was in shock. She didn't want to wear these glasses indefinitely. "What about the others?"

Oscar began spreading some jam on the slice of bread. "Others?"

""Chef Spatula visited his sister in the Winkie Country."

Oscar paused, then looked at his bread more closely. He tried to pick something out of it and a drop of blood began oozing from his finger. He put it down and looked downcast. "It looks like the Witch of the West got to him. And I don't think he's the only one. Lately there's been several suspicious incidents around the city. I suspect the witches have several agents in the city, none of whom even know they're agents."

"You can't just give them all yellow glasses for some of them are in the thrall of the Wicked Witch of the West."

The Wizard stared out the window. "The Emerald City's in grave danger. I don't really know what to do about it."

Jellia began looking around the floor. Now all the stained glass looked yellowish. "Give me some blue glass." The Wizard picked up a couple of pieces and handed them to her. "Stand ready, I'm going to try something." She slid the blue glass over the yellow lenses. Everything turned green. The two of them waited. Nothing happened. The pair of them exhaled with a whoosh. Neither one of them had been breathing.

The Wizard looked her over closely. "Combining the two colors cancels out both kinds of magic. That's very clever of you."

"So you can give everybody green glasses." Jellia said.

The Wizard didn't look happy. He looked very depressed. "I can, but I don't know if I should. Everyone in the Emerald City will have to wear green spectacles until both witches are dead. You might have to wear those for the rest of your life seeing nothing but green. Not just you but everyone else in the city."

Jellia took his hand and squeezed it. "This is the Emerald City, everybody loves green."

"Yes, but not just green. Everybody likes cake but they like to eat other foods too. I'll be taking the colors out of everybody's lives. I'll be stealing their rainbows. I've tried to rule with a light hand but this is the worst kind of tyranny."

Jellia sighed. "I guess it's necessary."

The Wizard nodded. "Yes, it's necessary. That's the excuse used by every tyrant."

_Professor Wogglebug stopped scribbling in his notebook. "So that's the story behind the green spectacles. I remember having to wear them on my first trip to the Emerald City. I was told it was to prevent blindness."_

"_Yes that's the story we made up. We announced that several people had gone blind and that everyone needed the spectacles. The people of the Emerald City are very obedient and cheerful and went along with it. Only six people objected and The Wizard saw to it that they all received nice houses and farms outside of the city walls."_

_Professor Wogglebug looked puzzled. "But when I visited the city both witches had already been destroyed."_

"_Yes, once the witches were destroyed, the spectacles were no longer needed. As you know, the Wizard left almost immediately afterwards. He did tell the Scarecrow that the spectacles were no longer necessary but I don't think he fully understood. So he decided to keep the policy in place."_

_The Wogglebug nodded. "Until Ozma officially rescinded the law."_

_Jellia shook her head. "It pretty much ended under the rule of Queen Jinjur. She didn't recind the law so much as completely ignore it. It was pretty much dead by the time Ozma buried it."_

Up in the tower Jellia kissed Oscar again and snuggled next to him to watch the sunset. Now it was all shades of green. She missed the reds and golds, the blue skies and the white fluffy clouds and she wondered if she would ever see them again. But for now she lived in a green world.


	6. The Four Travelers

**The Hidden Man**

**Chapter 6**

**Four Travelers**

* * *

><p>"<em>We were happy together for several years." Jellia said while pouring the Wogglebug another cup of lemonade. "Then something happened that changed our lives forever. It changed the lives of everybody in Oz. Four travellers arrived at the gates of the Emerald City."<em>

Jellia arrived in the Wizard's hidden back rooms to prepare him a nice hot lunch. Ever since Miss Broom had quit and she had been promoted to head maid it was much easier to slip away for hours at a time. She placed the bag of food on the kitchen counter and gave Oscar a quick kiss.

"Any news?" He asked.

"No, you have the usual crowd of people waiting outside in the Great Hall wanting to see you."

"And they can keep waiting until Doomsday. You'd think after all these years they'd figure out I don't see visitors."

Jellia put out a plate of pancakes covered with strawberries. "They just want you to fix their problems."

"If they work together they can solve their own problems instead of wasting their lives hanging out in the Great Hall every day." Oscar grumbled.

Just when they were finishing their lunch they heard a bell tinkle.

"It's Omby Amby," Jellia said. "I wonder what he wants?"

"I'm pretty sure it's something stupid." The Wizard grumbled. "It usually is."

"How should I set up the Throne Room?"

"Don't bother, I'm not going to put on the whole dog and pony show just for Omby. I'll just sit behind the screen." Oscar wiped his mouth with a clean cotton napkin and stood up. Jellia got up too and followed him to the Throne Room where she stood behind a doorway listening.

After the Wizard activated the remote control door mechanism Omby marched in and bowed to the throne. "Oh mighty Wizard, there's a group of travelers wishing an audience with your majestic awesomeness."

"So what!?" The Wizard's voice boomed. "There's always somebody coming here wanting me to give them something. Send them back to wherever they came from!"

"But your most resplendent potentate they are a very unusual group."

The Wizard's curiosity got the better of him. "So, what do they look like?"

"One is a majestic lion."

"A lion ehh?" There are many lions in Oz but none have ever come to the Emerald City before."

"There's also a living scarecrow."

"How queer! How did he ever come to be alive?"

"I don't know, he didn't say. There's also a man made completely out of tin."

"That's also very odd."

Omby Amby continued. "The last one is a little girl."

"What's she made of?" The Wizard asked.

"Meat, as far as I can tell. She's wearing a checkered dress, silver shoes and a sunbonnet with . . ."

"Wait!" The Wizard's voice boomed. "Back up! Did you say she had silver shoes?!"

"Yes, and a great shining mark on her forehead. She also has a small hairy animal in a basket that makes a great deal of noise."

"A shining mark on her forehead? Oh my! Very well, I will see them. But only one at a time and one per day, I will see the girl first. Arrange for separate rooms for them in the Palace. Now go!" The Wizard stepped away from the horn only to find Jellia looking at him. One eyebrow raised in puzzlement.

"So why are you going to meet this group?" she asked.

"The girl is wearing the silver shoes that belong to the Wicked Witch of The East. I would like to know how she got them. This could be very important."

"Unless she's the Wicked Witch in disguise." Jellia countered.

"No, she's been kissed by The Good Witch of the North. Locasta doesn't just kiss anybody and she surely wouldn't kiss the Wicked Witch of the East. They don't get along at all. There's something very unusual happening here and I'd like to find out what it is. I'll see them separately because people are much more afraid when they're alone than they are with their friends. I charged guns and cannons with my friends, when I was alone I ran away." He gave Jellia a quick peck on the cheek. "Now you'd better go and show our guests to their rooms."

After leading the four companions to different rooms at different far flung parts of the Palace, Jellia returned to the Throne Room to help the Wizard set up the giant head.

"So what are you going to with them?" Jellia asked.

"I'm going to find out where the girl got the shoes and what happened to the Witch of the East."

"They're going to want something." Jellia said as she hooked up some control wires.

"Of course they are, everybody wants something. But don't worry, I've got an idea."

The next morning Jellia led Dorothy to the Throne Room and waited outside with her queer companions until the audience was over. When the little girl left the throne room she was weeping. "There is no hope for me," she said sadly, "for Oz will not send me home until I have killed the Wicked Witch of the West and that I cannot do."

Jellia was horrified. After the four friends left for their respective rooms she turned around and strode into a little used hallway.

A few minutes later Jellia stormed into the Wizard's back rooms. "What the Sam Hill do you think you're doing!" she shouted. She had no idea if Sam Hill was a person or a place but it was an expression Oscar had used several times. "There's no way that little girl can possibly defeat the Wicked Witch of the West!"

The Wizard smiled, "I know, that's the whole idea." Jellia just gave him an angry look as he continued. "I'm not a genie, I can't grant wishes. I wish I could but I can't. Dorothy might be young but she's very intelligent. Of course destroying the Witch is impossible. Once she and her friends realize that, they will give up on the whole thing. Don't worry. I'll build her and her friends a nice house where they can all live together. Eventually they'll learn to be happy with what they have."

"Suppose she decides to go after the Witch anyway?"

The Wizard shook his head. "Don't worry, she won't. I understand how people think. Dorothy's no killer."

"It doesn't seem right to trick them that way, Dorothy wants so badly to get home."

"We've been tricking everybody in Oz for years now. You know how important this is, there's still one Wicked Witch out there. We have to keep the Emerald City safe, now come on Jellia, help me get the Beast out of storage."

Jellia just shook her head, "I don't want anything more to do this. You'll have to do this on your own." She then turned and walked away.

Over the next three days Jellia led the other members of the party to the Throne Room and every one of them received the same answer. Slay the Wicked Witch of The West and your wish will be granted. After the Lion's audience, Jellia escorted Dorothy back to her suite.

"What's the best way to find the Wicked Witch?" Dorothy asked.

Jellia's stomach tied up in a knot. "You don't have to find the Wicked Witch, all you have to do is walk into the Winkie Country. Then she will find you and make you her slaves."

"So what can I do?"

Jellia grabbed Dorothy's shoulder and turned her around so they were face to face. "The best thing you and your friends can do is nothing. Don't go into the Winkie Country. You can stay here in the Emerald City. You have friends who love you. Just please don't go into the Winkie Country." Dorothy blinked back her tears, then gave her a small nod. Jellia gave her a hug and sighed with relief. Perhaps the Wizard was right. She did seem a very intelligent child. Jellia then went to the storeroom to get a tall ladder, which she dragged to the Throne Room. Oscar didn't seem to have any idea just how much soot the Ball of Fire generated.

The next morning Jellia brought Dorothy her breakfast. When she got to her room she saw that all of Dorothy's friends were gathered together getting ready to leave. Jellia tried to keep from weeping. "Here, have a good breakfast, I'll pack your basket for you." She took the basket to the kitchen where Chef Spatula helped her pack the basket with delicious foods.

"So who's this for?" He asked.

"Dorothy, she and her friends are going into the Winkie Country to slay the Wicked Witch."

"I guess we won't be seeing them again."

Jellia brought Dorothy the basket then tied a little green ribbon around Toto's neck. Then she gave Dorothy a tight hug. "You don't have to do this." She whispered in her ear. "Go back to the Munchkin country. You're a heroine there. They'll take care of you. The Wizard will never know."

"No, I must." Dorothy whispered back. "The Wizard's right. The Witch must be destroyed. Nobody in this land will ever be free until she's gone."

Jellia stood there weeping as the small party walked down the hall together then she ran to a window in the front of the palace to watch them walk down the grand boulevard to the city gate where they disappeared from view. She stood there for hours hoping they would come back into the city but they never did.


	7. Pawns

**The Hidden Man**

**Chapter 7**

**Pawns**

* * *

><p>Oscar was tinkering with an electrical lightning machine when Jellia trudged into his apartments. He greeted her with a big smile, "Good afternoon my dear. How are our guests doing?"<p>

"They're gone."

A wrench fell from Oscar's nerveless fingers and clattered on the floor. "Gone?"

His voice was a dry terrified croak.

"Yes, four good people. Four desperate, hurting people came to you for help and you sent them to their doom."

"But, I didn't think they'd go."

"No, you didn't think! You know people! You know how they think! You've been cut off so long you've forgotten what people are really like! You're a coward so you think everybody's a coward. You'd never confront a witch so you think no one would. You want to keep your secret to protect the Emerald City. Is your secret worth the lives of four good people?"

Oscar slumped into a chair and buried his head in his hands, "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

"I'm sorry too Oscar. You once told me that I shouldn't be afraid to sacrifice my pawns. I'm afraid that sacrificing your pawns has gotten much too easy for you. I'm leaving now. I'll keep working in the Palace but I never want to see you again." She turned and left him sitting there alone but he'd been sitting alone for so long now.

"_So that was the end of your relationship with the Wizard?" Professor Wogglebug asked._

"_Yes, eventually Dorothy and her friends returned but I was still angry with Oscar over how he manipulated them." Jellia smiled. The Wizard never expected them to return. I'm sure he was delighted that they survived but he still couldn't grant their wishes. He kept putting them off day after day until they got fed up."_

Jellia spent a good half an hour in the Throne Room ringing the bell until she got a response. **"I am Oz! The Great and Terrible!" **The voice then went down several decibels. "Oh, it's you. Hello Jellia."

"The Scarecrow sent me. They did what you ordered. It's time to keep your end of the bargain."

"Tell them I am communing with fellow wizards in the Ethersphere and cannot be disturbed."

Jellia crossed her arms. "The Scarecrow anticipated that you might be busy and wishes to inform you that if you don't grant them their requests they will summon the flying monkeys and order them to rip the palace to pieces if necessary until they find you and bring you before them."

"Oh! They have the cap of the flying monkeys?"

"They have an unusual looking cap. I don't know if it summons the flying monkeys for I haven't seen any flying monkeys. But they are good and honest people who would never lie. Unlike some people I know!"

"Oh, uhh, flying monkeys! Oh, tell them I will see them tomorrow morning at four minutes after nine!"

Jellia turned and walked out without another word, a small smile forming on her lips.

"_And the rest is history." Professor Wogglebug declared. The Wizard was exposed as the humbug he was."_

"_Yes," Jellia replied. "Most of the heroes were delighted and very well satisfied with his rewards of sawdust, liquor and sewing supplies. But Dorothy was a completely different case. No amount of trickery was going to convince her that she was home in Kansas. So he set about making a balloon to take himself and Dorothy back to the outside world. He just wanted to go home."_

_The Wogglebug shook his head, "No, he wasn't going home. He was already home. He spent two thirds of his life in Oz. He had no family or friends in America. The Wicked Witches were dead. He felt the Emerald City no longer needed a powerful wizard to protect it." His gaze then focused on Jellia. "And he was a lonely man who had just lost his only friend."_

_Jellia stared down at the floor. "I did miss him, I still miss the times we had together but what he did was so horrible." She wiped a tear from her cheek. "I never spoke to him again. We say hello to each other passing by in the hallways sometimes but I never really spoke to him again._

"_Yes, how he treated Dorothy and the others was pretty shabby. But he was a good ruler. He kept Oz at peace at a time when it could have erupted into open warfare. His very presence kept the Emerald City safe. It only took a few months after he left for the Emerald City to be invaded and sacked. And he's a different man now. He's changed much as all of us has changed." Professor Wogglebug gazed at the doors to the balcony, no longer made of stained glass. This wasn't just a parlor. It was an old battleground. "He's no longer a humbug, not the liar or the trickster. He's now a heroic adventurer, Ozma's right hand man. Can you think of any time he has told a lie since his return to Oz?"_

_Jellia pondered that a while and shook her head. _

_Professor Wogglebug shut his notebook and slid it into an inside pocket of his immaculately tailored coat. "I believe this is enough for today. I will take this back to my office at the Athletic College and write this new information into my history. If you don't mind a suggestion I recommend that you go to the Wizard and have a heart to heart talk with the man. He does have a lot of friends but he doesn't have a real confidant. Keeping an old grudge only lessens one's own happiness."_

_Jellia gave him a thoughtful look then nodded as they stood up. She clasped his hands. "You're welcome to visit anytime."_

_Professor Wogglebug picked up his hat and headed for the stairs. "Thank you, if you don't mind, I would like to hear your stories of the reigns of the Scarecrow and Jinjur. Perhaps in a couple of weeks?"_

"_Sure thing Professor, I'll see you then." After he left she sat there staring at the clouds outside her window. She had no idea why she opened up to the Wogglebug like that. Her relationship with the Wizard had always been a private thing. But perhaps some things weren't meant to be secret forever. _

_Jellia rose from her chair and walked across the room to a large chest of drawers. She pulled open the top drawer and her hands gently caressed a rectangular wooden box covered with black and white checks and smiled. _

_In his workshop The Wizard opened a door only to see a blank wall. He stared at the wall for a few minutes stroking his chin thinking. His idea to link two doors miles apart with a teleport spell seemed like a good idea, he would be able to open a door and instantly walk into Glinda's palace or another door to the Scarecrow's mansion. But try as he might he never could get them to work any further than fifty feet. He decided to give up on the idea for now. After all traveling around Oz is a large part of the fun. Still, Chef Spatula might appreciate a short cut from the kitchen to the main dining room._

_He heard a knock at the door and turned his head, he was surprised when Jellia shyly stepped in. She did clean his workshop on a regular basis but only when he was out. Jellia always seemed to try to spend as little time in his presence as possible. "Hello Jellia, does Ozma need to see me?"_

_Jellia shook her head, "No, Ozma doesn't need to see you, I do. And I don't need to see the Wizard of Oz, I need to see Oscar Diggs." From behind her back she produced the chess set and grinned at him. "It's been a long time but I'm pretty sure I can beat you now."_

_Oscar felt a flush of happiness and began clearing off a table. He had no idea how much he missed Jellia until this moment. "Perhaps you can but you'll have to earn it." _

_Professor Wogglebug, on his way to the Royal Library happened to glance down the long hallway just in time to see Jellia enter the workshop. He paused for a minute then continued on his way whistling a jolly tune. He had a big task ahead of him. Oz history continued every day and once in a while it needed a little nudge in the right direction._

The End


End file.
